


The Keeper

by Pookiethefrickinbunn



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Brothels, Dark Yokozawa, Kidnapping, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Prostitution, Rape/Non-con Elements, making the tags up as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-05-23 19:57:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6128383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pookiethefrickinbunn/pseuds/Pookiethefrickinbunn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a late night a work, Yokozawa walks in on Onodera and Takano. Reaching his breaking point, Yokozawa lashes out and begins to abuse Ritsu, due to his jealousy for Takano. This continues for a while until Ritsu goes missing. What will Takano do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!! – So…some of you may have seen this fic cross-posted on another website. That is true. While it is under another author’s name, (Shadows Little Miss) I just so happens that that is my old account. So I am not stealing this story. In fact, I’m posting it on here because I am hoping that I will continue on with this story. (Nearly two years later, sorry guys!) I’m going over all the chapters again so hopefully I’ll be able to edit some sections and make it higher quality. We’ll see. So for now, enjoy!

He was doing it again. Onodera Ritsu was pulling at Takano's strings and wrapping him around his little finger. Yokozawa hated the stupid looks he would give Takano when they talked to each other. Yokozawa figured it was only because he was around. Sometimes Onodera acted so innocent, and other times he acted like he almost hated Takano, and it made his blood boil. How could someone be so two faced?

As the large man from the sales department watched the two from his doorway, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. He was aggravated, and it didn’t help that it was two in the morning. He had come downstairs to speak to Takano, and when he did there was a rather interesting sight to see.

Onodera and his precious Masamune were kneeling on the dirty floor of the office and it looked like they were picking up papers, due to the mess that was surrounding them. (Though when you really looked at it, the entire office area was a mess.) As Yokozawa opened his mouth to catch the two's attention, something happened. It was something the sales man did not expect. It was obvious that the two thought they were alone for Takano reached out and pulled Onodera into a very hard kiss.

Yokozawa's eyes opened wide and he sucked in a sharp breath. He had never actually seen them get this physical before. He wanted to punch something. No. He wanted to punch Onodera, right in the face. He was furious. Closing his eyes Yokozawa then let out his breath, trying to calm down. Though that was a lot harder then it looked.  
________________________________________  
A loud sound of a throat being cleared echoed through the rather quiet office and it made Ritsu jump out of his skin. When he looked up Yokozawa was staring at him and Takano from the doorway. Had he been watching? Whatever the case was it freaked Ritsu out. Sticking his arms straight out Onodera pushed his much larger boss away from him, backing up on the floor. He did not want Yokozawa to get the wrong impression. He was already on bad terms with him.

"Yokozawa," Takano said flatly as he slowly stood up. "What's up?

"I needed to talk to you," the salesman said in a harsh tone.

"Well can it wait?" Takano asked as he walked over to a desk where a stack of papers were sitting. Picking them up he then sighed. "I was on my way out of the office.

"Yeah...I see that," Yokozawa muttered as he noted that his once lover had on his coat. Looking over at Ritsu he then noticed that he was wearing his coat as well. He still felt mad as he watched the smaller male collect the rest of the papers that were on the floor. This sales man wanted to hurt something so bad! "Well then...can I talk to Onodera for a moment? I have some questions in terms of his proposal he brought up last week"

"Oh!" Ritsu exclaimed as he looked at Yokozawa "Yeah that's not a problem!" For that split moment Onodera had completely forgotten about what the man had just seen him do. He was now more focused on his work.

A sly smile danced across Yokozawa's lips and he let out a soft, satisfactory, chuckle. He knew the brat couldn't resist.

"Alright then, I'll just wait for you outside," Takano stated as he started walking back towards his office to grab something.

"No!" both Yokozawa and Ritsu exclaimed at the same time.

With wide eyes Takano stared at them for a while before pushing his glasses back in place. "Fine." he muttered. "I'll see you both tomorrow," he said as he walked back into his office.

Once Takano was gone, both Ritsu and Yokozawa let out a silent held breath. Ritsu didn't want to be going home with Takano again. It gave the wrong message to people (or so he thought) and he just didn't feel that comfortable with Takano yet. (Though they had slept together a handful of times.) Yokozawa on the other hand didn't want that little pest walking around with Takano, it made his stomach churn.

"Let's go to my office," Yokozawa muttered as he turned towards the elevators. Onodera nodded quickly before gathering his papers, stuffing them into his bag, and then following the much larger man.

The elevator ride up to Yokozawa's office was rather awkward and Ritsu couldn't help but look at the ground. He did not dare look up at the sales man's face. He could already feel his eyes burning into his skin and Onodera figured that if he looked, he would surely die. Had Yokozawa seen them? If he did, that was bad. Ritsu was already not on good terms with this man. He didn't want to make things worse.

The elevator finally stopped and both men walked out and into the dimly lit sales department before entering Yokozawa's office. The larger man opened the door and motioned for Onodera to walk in. Lowering his head slightly, Onodera walked into the dark office. Once he was inside Yokozawa flipped on the lights and closed the door.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about in terms of my proposal?" Ritsu asked in an awkward tone. Turning his head to the side to get a better look at Yokozawa, he was able to catch a glimpse of the larger man’s fist before it made impact with Ritsu's face, sending him flying to the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...as I'm editing these chapters I'm noticing how terrible my writing was. I am so sorry. I would totally revamp things but I'm just too busy to do that. (I really shouldn't be working on these chapters anyways but...eh....procrastination!!) So, I'm apologizing for the terrible writing. Please forgive me!

A surprised yelp left Onodera's lips as he was knocked to the floor by Yokozawa's heavy punch. The green eyed boy was not expecting this from Yokozawa so he simply stayed sprawled out on the floor, looking at the larger man with wide, surprised eyes. Suddenly a sharp pain began to spread across Ritsu's face and the center of it was directly over his left eye and the side of his nose.

Bringing a hand to his face Ritsu applied pressure to the painful place. His nose throbbed and his eye felt like it had exploded. Soon the pain was too much and small tears collected in the bottom of Ritsu's eyes. What had Yokozawa done that for?

"Wha-?" Onodera muttered just trying to make sense of what had happened. Before he could finish his question though his words were cut off by another pain shooting through the left side of his torso. Yokozawa had noticed that Onodera was even more vulnerable on the ground and he took advantage of that.

Ritsu's hands suddenly fled to his side as he gasped for air as the pain ate as his ribs. His lips moved up and down silently as he tried to regain his breath. He looked like a fish out of water.

"Now you listen here!" Yokozawa growled under his breath as he towered over the defenseless Onodera. Kneeling down he then took hold of the boy's shoulders and held them in an iron grip as he stared into the boy's tearful eyes. "I saw what you did with Takano and I don't like it," Yokozawa said through clenched teeth. "You're just playing with him! I told you to keep your distance for him!"

As Yokozawa rambled on Ritsu began to look downward, not looking the larger man in the eyes. He could feel his hot breath crashing into his clammy skin and spit peppering his skin. As he looked away he also began to tune out what the sale's man was saying. Onodera was more focused on the pain he was in, and how scared he was.

"-era. -nodera. ONODERA!" After the sound of this Ritsu found himself being slapped across the face before his shoulder was taken up again. A small whimper escaped Ritsu's lips as he looked back at the man with wide eyes. He was listening now.

"Listen to me you little brat! I'm your superior and the one controlling this situation so don't you dare look away," the large male growled as he shook the boy's upper body like a rag doll. "Now you listen to me! Stay away from Takano! You can speak during work, but that's it! And only on related matters. I know you are neighbors but avoid him! In fact I would suggest you move out!" Yokozawa said in a harsh tone. "You're just hurting Takano by getting this close to him. And to be kissing him? Haven't you done enough damage already with the man? Or are you not happy with what you have done?"

It was silent for a moment after that as Onodera looked at Yokozawa with wide eyes, the larger man doing the same. In those brief moments Yokozawa had gotten a grip on reality and what he was doing. He had just punched one of his workers in the face. That was unacceptable, and it would probably get him in deep trouble. Was this Onodera kid really worth it? Pressing his lips together Yokozawa let go of Ritsu, dropping him to the floor. "Get out of here!" He hissed under his breath "And don't you dare tell Takano about this!" He muttered.

As soon as Ritsu was free from the man's grasp he scrambled up and took off towards the door. As he reached for the knob he couldn't seem to get it open and it made him feel helpless, like he was trapped in the room with a monster. Ritsu's clammy hands seemed to get a good grip on the knob, though, and after a moment of fighting with it he had the door open and he was out in a flash, leaving Yokozawa in the office all by himself. What had he done?

Dashing out of Yokozawa's office Ritsu ran out of the sales department and to the stairs. The elevator was too slow for Onodera and he feared that if he was in such a tight space at the moment, he would have a total breakdown. So the trip down the stairs was...well, literally a trip. The entire way down Onodera continued to trip over his feet and the steps as tears streamed down his cheeks. He was so confused at the moment he didn't know what to do.

Once he was on the bottom floor he dashed outside into the crispness of the night. The cold air stung the boy's face but he didn't care! He was just glad to get out of that building. As soon as Onodera was out of the building he slowed his pace down to a quick walk instead of a mad dash. Ritsu was only trying to make sense of what had just happened.

The entire train ride home Ritsu continued to play the situation over and over in his head. He was not trying to mess with Takano! In fact, Takano was pretty annoying. Sure Ritsu had been whisked away by his charm. But it was his charm that had done it. Not Takano himself. Besides, Takano was the one that had initiate the kiss! It was not Ritsu's fault for kissing Takano.

Either way Ritsu knew that there was no way in hell that he could let Takano what had happened. Even Yokozawa had said something like that. What would Takano do anyway? Have a stern talk with the guy? Surly he wouldn't beat him up. And after that what would happen? Would Yokozawa come after poor Ritsu again? Ritsu didn't know, but he knew he couldn't let his boss know.

The train soon stopped at Ritsu’s station and he got out slowly. One hand was over the left side of his face, and the other was holding the left side of his body. Yokozawa was really powerful and the younger man got to experience it firsthand. In fact his entire body hurt, not just where he had been attacked. And to top it off, he had splitting head ache.

By the time the young male got into his apartment, he could feel his left eye swelling shut. It hurt to even think about it, much less touch it. What would he tell his boss? He fell? Sure why not. Ritsu figured he was prone to harming himself. Takano knew that. The only difficult part was how he was going to make it sound believable.

Dropping his bag and coat onto the floor of his apartment, Ritsu closed and locked the door behind him and then made his way towards the bathroom, stripping along the way. When he was in front of the mirror he couldn't help but let out a gasp. His face didn't' look good at all! And where he had been kicked? It was still red and tender.

Pulling off the rest of his clothes (until he was only down to his underpants) Ritsu splashed cold water all over his face and neck before crawling into this soft bed. He was still shaken up by what had happened back at the company. With that Ritsu closed his eyes and tried to put everything in the back of his mind. He had almost succeeded but was interrupted when he heard the sound of his doorbell. What the fuck? It was three thirty in the morning! Who was here now?

Ritus was just about to get up and answer the door when something crossed his mind. What if it was Yokozawa again? Or worse Takano! This struck fear into Ritsu and he slowly crawled back in bed, trying to ignore the repetitive ringing.

"Onodera!" A muffled voice called from the other side. This voice that called sent chills down the boy's spine and he felt like dying. It was in fact Takano. "I know you are in there! Now open up!" he called.

Turning his head into the pillow beneath him Ritsu tried to drown out his bosses calls. He felt humiliated. He felt sick. He felt sad. Onodera felt miserable. All he wanted to do was cry, and that was exactly what he did.


	3. Chapter 3

The loud noise of thunder cracked through the night, stirring Ritsu from his sleep. His sleepy green eyes stared in the darkness for a moment before a crack of lighting shot through the sky, illuminating the entire room.

Ritsu sighted heavily, rolling over to fall back asleep, but after the rain began to hit the side of the apartment, Onodera couldn't sleep any longer. Groaning the male rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the light switch, flipping on the light. Looking to his clock it read: 4:24. Letting out a heavy groan, Ritsu hung his head. He had only gotten about an hour and a half of sleep

Making his way over to the bathroom Onodera turned on the light only to let out a harsh gasp. There in the mirror was a face that the male did not recognize. It looked like him, sure, but it wasn't. It couldn't be!

This face had a dark purple bruise under the left eye that extended around the rest of the eye and a little bit farther down his cheekbone. On top of that his top eyelid was slightly swollen and the once white part of his eye was now completely red. - A blood vessel must have broken.

Extending a shaking hand, Ritsu touched the bruised skin lightly, sending a painful shot through his face. Wincing slightly, he clenched his teeth. It hurt more than he thought it would.

After examining his black eye for a couple more minutes he remembered that he had been kicked. Lifting up his shirt the man examined the side of his torso, noticing a large bruise. It looked painful enough that he decided he wouldn't touch it. He didn't want to find out how much it hurt.

When Onodera finally decided that he was finished examining himself he decided that he would get ready for work. Sure, he didn't have to really be there till 9:00 a.m. but he couldn't sleep, not with what had happened to him last night running though his mind.

Pulling off his boxers, Ritsu turned on the hot water of the shower and climbed inside. The warmth of the water stung Onodera's skin but he continued to stay under it. The entire time he was in there, though, he did not wash his body or his hair. He simply stood under the running water, thinking.  
What would he tell Takano?

He had to face him, even if he didn't feel like it. Would Takano know where he had received his bruise from? Would he accuse Yokozawa? He was the kind of person to do something like that. It also killed Ritsu to think about having to move out of the apartment complex. Ok, he really didn't have to but if it meant getting punched in the face again, well, Onodera wanted no part of it. So what would he tell Takano? His mother was falling ill? Well, that might work.

Ritsu continued to think until the water turned cold and soon he began to shiver. With quaking hands Ritsu turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a town around his body. Going back into his room he then decided that it was time to get dressed.

Pulling on a dark green V-neck T-Shirt and black pants the male made his way to the kitchen area. The clock now read 5:30. Great. What was he going to do now?  
Thinking over his options Onodera decided that he would leave then and catch breakfast on the way to work. Besides, he knew that he didn't want to leave the same time as Takano. That was always bad, and today would be the worst day for that to happen.

After collecting all of his belongings that he needed for the day, Onodera pulled on a grey jacket, slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and then was out of the apartment.

The sky was still dark and the thunder and lightning cracked along the sky but Ritsu didn't care. It was a slight drizzle as Ritsu walked away from the apartment. His hood was draped over his head and it was doing a fairly good job at keeping the water out.

As soon as Onodera stepped inside the train station he pulled off his hood and sat down, waiting for his form of transportation. Even though it was 6:00 am the station was still packed with people...and some of those people were looking pretty hard at his black eye. As soon as the green eyed male made notice of his he pulled his hood back over his head. Why were people staring anyways? It's not like he was a part of the Yakuza or anything. He simply was just in a bad situation.

Soon the train arrived at that station that would take him to the publishing company. As soon as Onodera took his seat inside the train car, he glanced to his right and about had a heart attack.

There was a very tall man with a large frame and short black hair moving his way. Yokozawa. Sucking in a deep breath Ritsu blinked rapidly a couple times. When he looked back in that direction he then realized that it was not Yokozawa. This person had a calmer looking face with kind blue eyes and his build was not as big as Yokozawa's was. He was also probably younger.

Letting out a heavy sight the boy shook his head. How in the world was he going to get though the day with him thinking that ever person was Yokozawa? Trying to shake it off Ritsu closed his eyes and soon drifted off into sleep. He was so tired.

________________________________________  
"We are now arriving at XX station, Please..."

Onodera's eyes opened slowly at the sound of the intercom aboard the train. Looking around in a groggy manner Onodera saw that he had awakened one stop before his! What good luck!

"Maybe this is a sign," the twenty-five-year-old thought "Maybe everything will go smoothly with Takano!" - Yeah right!

Straightening himself up, the young manga editor waited for his stop and when he arrived he stepped out and began his trek to the publishing company.

By the time he stepped in he doors Onodera was sopping wet but he really didn't care and he didn't bother to take off his hood either. People would only stare and he didn't like his eyes on him.

Once the elevator doors opened the young male stepped in and pressed his floor. Within a minute he walked into the manga editing department. It was dark, quite, and slightly cool. It felt dead inside. Maybe it was the fact that they were closing a cycle and so everything was rushed. Either way it made the man uncomfortable as he walked inside. Obviously no one was here.

With the lights flicking on Onodera stripped off his grey jacket, letting it fall to the side of his desk in a wet heap. It was gross and Onodera was too lazy to do anything else with it. Pulling out his work from the previous day he then began to work.

It was almost two hours before people began to file inside the office space. Onodera really didn't notice them, he was too busy working but he began to notice their presence when he heard his name being whispered rather loudly. Looking up the editor then realized that his desk gave everyone a perfect view of his busted up face.

Great. They were talking about him.

The rest of Onodera's work was not as high of quality as he had previously been doing due to his thoughts that were beginning to wander. His thoughts were soon interrupted, though, when he heard a voice say: "Good Morning Takano!"

Shit.

It wasn't more than a couple seconds before Onodera heard the cool voice of Takano behind him.

"Hey, Onodera. I need you to run this to the printers on the other side of town. Think you can do that? Since we have the storm our server is down so we can't send it over the internet. So, are you up for it?" Takano asked as he tossed a large stack of clipped papers onto Onodera's desk along with a flash drive. The boy flinched as the papers hit the solid mass with a large thud, but he didn't turn around. He was terrified.

"Y-Yea," Onodera spoke. It was the first time he had spoken all day so his voice was slightly groggy, and it was shaking.

Pressing his lips together Takano looked at the back of the smaller male's head. He wasn't turning around and he seemed almost scared in the way he spoke. Was he ok? Deciding that it was really nothing to worry about Takano headed back to where his desk was located.

"Hey, Takano," One of the workers said nonchalantly. "Did you see little Onodera's face?" he asked, leaning on Takano's desk. Hearing his Takano looked at the worker with a puzzled look. He was obviously confused.

"No," he said, almost a question.

"Well, he looks pretty banged up! I wonder what happened. You think..." The man continued to speak, but Takano wasn't listening anymore.

Onodera's back was currently facing Takano since he was packing up his belongings before heading out. Once that was done he pulled the bag over his head and turned to exit, giving Takano a glorious view of the large black eye he was currently sporting. Sucking in a sharp, shocked, breath Takano suddenly left his co-worker and stalked off to Onodera, taking him by the arm and towing him out of the work space and into a more private setting.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Takano hissed though clenched teeth as he turned Onodera so that he could look at him head on.

Ritsu felt his stomach drop when he realized what was going on. Now he was faced with a question that he didn't want to answer. His brain was becoming liquid and his tongue seemed to be swelling up. He had no clue what to say.

"I-I fell down," the manga editor said feebly, looking to the ground. He couldn't look at Takano, not with this face.

"That's a bunch of bullshit!" Takano growled as he tightened his grip on Onodera's arm. Who could have done this? Onodera was obviously not telling for the truth. He was terrible at lying. After thinking about it for one moment he then realized that only one man could have done this. There was no other logical answer. "I'm serious! Who did this?"

"I came home from work last night and fell! I just hit my face on a table, that's all." Onodera muttered, biting his lip. He hoped Takano would buy it.

"Stop lying to me!" Takano now said, it was almost a yell.

"I'M SERIOUS!" Ritsu suddenly yelled as he snapped his eyes shut, pulling his body away from Takano's grasp. It was silent for a moment and when Onodera finally opened his eyes small tears fell from them. This caught Takano off guard and as soon as he saw it his face fell. Onodera was really upset. He wasn't going to push it any further.

"Okay, I believe you." He said softly, looking at Onodera with hurt eyes. "Now, go! You need to go do your job." Takano said and then he watched as Onodera quickly collected his things and walked out of sight.

Once the young man was out of the office, Takano took off his glasses, rubbing his forehead in frustration. He had a visit to make with a certain sales person.

Placing the glasses back on his face he then stalked over to the stares, going up three flights. He was too angry to wait for the elevator. Once he was on the sale's department floor he headed for Yokozawa's office. Luckily he was in there...alone. Opening the door, and closing it was great force, Takano stalked inside.

"Ah, Takano!" Yokozawa said as he looked up from his work. "What can I help you wi-" he began to say but was cut off by the hard force of Takano's hand making contact with his face.

"What the fuck did you do?" Takano growled as Yokozawa was sent backwards in his chair.

"Wh-what?" The larger man stammered out as he looked at Takano. He was obviously playing dumb. "What did I do? -Why did you just hit me?"

"You hurt Onodera last night!" Takano said as he loomed over Yokozawa who was now standing up, rubbing his cheek. "Why did you do it? Are you jealous of our relationship?" Takano asked his gaze hardening.

"What?" Yokozawa scoffed. "I did not harm a hair on his head! We simply talked about the proposal and then he went home."

"Liar!" Takano said as he got up in Yokozawa's face.

"But I'm telling the truth!"

"I know you did it you lying sack of shit! Consider our friendship over!" Takano then said as he turned to leave. He then stopped and turned to look at Yokozawa once more. "And if you ever lay another finger on Onodera again, I'll kill you!"

"But I-"

"Shut up Yokozawa!" Takano fumed.

By now people could clearly hear the two fighting and they gather outside of the office to hear what would happen next.

"BUT I LOVE YOU!" Yokozawa interjected, stopping Takano dead in his tracks. "I love you Takano! Please, you can't destroy our relationship just because of an accusation!"

"It's not an accusation," Takano grumbled, pressing his lips together. "I know you did it," he then added. "And I have some news for you. I love Onodera. And seeing what you did to him? Well, I can safely say that I hate you!" Turning, he then walked to the door, stopping only for a moment before exiting. "Don't ever touch him! Don't talk to him, and don't look at him! You are a monster!" he grumbled before leaving the room.

________________________________________

It was almost nine in the evening when Onodera finally arrived back at the Publishing Company. What a day it had been. Maybe it was mostly a waist, on his part, but he had also saved the day for the manga editing department. What Takano had given him was most of the finished copies for the final draft of the next issue. Without Onodera going they would have been screwed. After he had gotten out of the publishing company he took a rather long, and late lunch, not really wanting to go back to face Takano. And after that? Well he had some issues with the Taxi he had taken and then after transferring himself to the train, well...the train had problems. 

Onodera was wrong about today. It was a disaster.

Now he was in the elevator heading to the sales department. The printing press had given Onodera something to give to sales but it was now really late. Onodera figured no one would be in and he decided that he could easily slip the documents to the sales department and not be seen. He didn't want to be anywhere near where Yokozawa was located.

Walking into the department Onodera then found that it was deserted. No one was there. Great! They must have all went home. That was perfect! Onodera wouldn't have to worry about running into Yokozawa...or so he thought.

As the manga editor rounded the corner he saw Yokozawa only a couple feet away from him. The two suddenly stopped and the large male looked at Onodera with a hard gaze before his face twisted into an angry expression.

Yokozawa was still upset from what Takano had said to him earlier that day, and now to see the cause of it? Oh it made Yokozawa's blood boil. This was the reason that Takano hated him! This was the reason he was in pain! He would pay!

Lunging forward Yokozawa took off after Onodera who was now running towards the elevator. He was only a few feet in front of him.

Ritsu on the other hand was running for his life. He didn't understand why Yokozawa was so angry. What had he done this time? He didn't say anything to Takano, so why was he mad?

As Onodera pulled ahead, further away from Yokozawa, he rushed forward and hit the elevator button. To his relief the doors opened automatically and Onodera ran inside, only to hit a solid mass. Looking up he let out a slight yelp. It was Takano.

Takano let out a small gasp as he felt someone run into him. Seeing that it was Onodera he became concerned and looked up just to see the elevator's doors close...and see Yokozawa staring at them with burning hatred. As the doors closed it was silent. Onodera was just inches away from Takano.

"What were you doing?” Takano asked as calmly as he could.

Oh crap! What was Onodera going to say?

"I was...getting exercise!" Onodera finally managed to say.

"Oh, and you get that as Yokozawa chases you?" Takano asked, he was clearly irritated.

It was silent and Onodera didn't say a work. In fact he was just looking at the ground with a glazed look in his eyes. "Onodera!" Takano said, but there was no response. "Onodera!" He said once more.

"Huh?"

"Did he try and hurt you...just now?" Takano asked, his face full of worry.

"No! I-"

"Did he hurt you last night?"

It was silent.

"Ritsu," Takano pleaded. "Please answer me!"

"I told you," Ritsu finally managed to say as the elevator doors opened, allowing the two to exit, though they didn't. "I fell last night." By this time it was clear that Takano was not going to get anywhere with this. Fine.

"Well then...go home, it's been a long day," Takano muttered.

"Oh...thank you!" Onodera muttered as he stepped out of the elevator and to the lobby. Takano didn't get out though, he just pressed another button and the doors closed.

As the young manga editor walked home he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened in the last day or so. It was all so crazy.  
________________________________________  
How had this happened? Why was Takano sitting in front of Ritsu’s apartment door? Hadn't he left the company before him? As Ritsu got closer, Takano stood up, facing the younger male, and in his hands he held an ice pack.

"How did you-?" Onodera began to speak.

"My car," Takano said before the younger male could speak. "You know, it's a million times faster than taking the train."

"Oh," Onodera muttered as he fished around in his pocket for the key into his apartment.

"Let me help you," Takano then said as he placed a cool hand on Onodera's shoulder.

"Thanks, but I don't need any help," Onodera muttered as he finally got the key into the slot. But, before he could go any farther Takano's hand was around his arm and he was towing Onodera back into his own apartment. Of course Onodera protested, but Takano ignored it and continued to walk. Once they were inside he stopped, letting go of Onodera. Takano's gaze was now soft and he looked concerned.

"I won't let him hurt you," He said quietly.

"What?" Onodera suddenly asked. What was Takano talking about? Surly he didn't know. He didn't go to Yokozawa or anything, right?

"You don't have to worry, I'll protect you," Takano said again, this time a bit louder.

"Yeah, you're right!" Onodera suddenly said in a loud voice. "I don't need to worry because nothing happened! I fell, that's all." Onodera muttered. He knew that Takano knew he was lying, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth.

"Just shut up!" Takano said as he took hold of Onodera once again and shoved him close to his body. And he leaned down, kissing Onodera on the lips. Of course when he did this, Takano couldn't help but look at Onodera's black eye. It made Takano feel sad.

Eyes growing wide Onodera pushed away from Takano. This was no time for kissing! "Leave me alone!" Onodera interjected but as he did so Takano raised his hand.

Oh no. Was he really going to hit him? Not wanting to take any chances the younger male snapped his eyes shut and tucked his head in a little. Takano never made contact though. It was just silent now.

"He hit you, didn't he," Takano said quietly, his voice filled with hurt.

"No!" Ritsu said as tears came into his eyes. He had to get out of here! Pushing past Takano, Ritsu was able to leave the apartment and by the time he had made it into his own, tears were falling from his eyes rather freely.

What had all happened today? How did Takano know? And why did Yokozawa run at him like that? He hadn't said a word! Onodera didn't know for sure, but he felt confused and scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I posted this chapter a few years back I had a few people ask me if the man on the train that Ritsu mistook for Yokozawa was Nowaki. It is. eheh. Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

A heavy sigh escaped Onodera's lips. The large bruise that had formed on the man's face was even darker, with a hint of red mixed in with it. That, and it was a lot more sensitive than the previous day. And to top it all off? It was exceedingly hard for Onodera to breath due to the bruising of his ribs. With everything looking worse than normal Onodera was wondering if this trip to his parents would be a disaster.

Yes, Onodera was taking a day to visit his parents. After all, Takano called him earlier to let him know he had the day off. Yesterday was the end of a cycle so Takano said to take it easy, but Onodera knew better. He was only doing this because he suspected foul play with Yokozawa. Well, he as right but Onodera couldn't for the life of him figure out how he had found out. Either way, Yokozawa probably knew that Takano knew, and this concerned Onodera greatly.

Oh well. Today as a day to relax and he wasn't about to let his worries get in the way.  
________________________________________  
By the time Onodera made it to the front door of his childhood home he was breathing heavily, holding his side as he stood quietly. Shit. They would defiantly freak out now. Ringing the doorbell, Onodera waited quietly and finally the door opened.

An old man with rather youthful eyes opened the door, peering out at Onodera. As soon as his eyes made contact the younger male's swollen eye he gasped, opening the door in a rush.

"Ritsu!" the man said in shock, looking at the man in front of him.

"Hello Hasune," Onodera said, sparing a small smile. He always enjoyed seeing his butler.

"My God! What happened to you?" The butler asked as he motioned for Onodera to step inside.

"Well," Onodera laughed nervously before beginning, “You know how clumsy I was as a kid. I guess it just got the best of me." Onodera muttered. Hasune still looked confused. “I came home late from work a few nights back and in my dark apartment I tripped and fell and hit my face on the side of the coffee table…" Onodera lied with a sigh. The elderly man opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a deep voice.

"Sounds like you need to be more careful!" The voice said and both men turned around to see the owner of the voice. It was Onodera's father!

"D-Dad!" Ritsu said a little surprised. He hadn't realized his father was right down the hall.

"It's good to see you Ritsu," the man said as he extended his arms to give his son a hug. After they embraced the older male pulled away and took his son's chin in his hand so that he could study the black eyes. "Your mother is going to have a heart attack!" The man stated.

"Yeah, I know," Ritsu responded.

"Well, we weren't expecting a visit from you today," Ritsu's father said as he began to lead his don down the hall.

"Yeah, I got the day off."

"Well, we are always glad to have you here," his father stated as he opened a door that lead into the living room area. "Dear, we had a visitor," Ritsu's father called out.

Suddenly a head popped up from the seat of the couch and into the two men's view. It belonged to Ritsu's mother and it looked like she had been napping.

"Huh?" she muttered in a sleepy tone, but suddenly her eyes caught sight of Onodera and she bolted up "Ritsu!" She called out as she quickly walked over to the two. Putting a hand on her son's cheek she then stroked his swollen face. "What in God's name happened?" the woman demanded, her voice laced with worry.

"I fell," he son said then pressed his lips together in a fine line.

"Oh Ritsu!" the woman said, almost at the verge of tears. She hated to see her son like this.  
________________________________________  
Today had been a good day. Onodera got to spend some much needed time with his family and later on in the day An showed up. All four of them had went for a walk in the park and after that An decided to walk Onodera home. They were currently walking down the sidewalk of a busy street when An turned to look at Onodera.

"Did you really get that from falling?" she asked out of the blue. This of course took Onodera off guard. He was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"No…" He muttered quietly.

"Did your neighbor give it to you?" She then asked, her tone harsh.

"No!" Onodera stated again. "Someone is…jealous of our relationship, though. He took it out on me." The young man explained.

"Oh, Ritsu!" An cried and with that he had something tugging at him. When he turned to see what was wrong An placed a rather passionate kiss on Onodera. "Ritsu!" She breathed as she pulled away tears streaming down her face. "Come with me!" She cried. "I love you! And I would never hurt you!"

"An," Ritsu muttered as he looked down at her with sad eyes. "I-I love you…just, not like that. Even if I've been hurt…I love Takano. I'm sorry." He said.

An sniffed, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Well," She laughed in between her crying. "It was worth a try.” Onodera pressed his lips together, not quite sure how to respond to that statement. "Well, the least you can do is take me shopping!" She said and with that she led him into a store that was to their left.  
________________________________________  
It has been a long day and Yokozawa was not happy! Things at work were not panning out the way he wanted and Takano still refused to listen to him.

Damn Onodera.

It had been long and stressful so Yokozawa decided that on his way home he was stop at a bar and grab a drink. He had been sitting there, drinking for about an hour when he looked over and saw what looked like Onodera and a woman. Suddenly he saw the two kissing. He wasn't even sure who had started it. And they were right out in front of the tinted window, in front of Yokozawa. They were in public! What the fuck?

At first Yokozawa didn't think it was him but when he turned and revealed his swollen eye…well, he knew the truth. Then, as if it couldn't be bad enough he saw Onodera's lips move. It was very clear. "I. love. You."

That was it!

Yokozawa had had enough lies! The man got up and was about to confront Onodera but he disappeared into another building.

Suddenly a plan began to form within Yokozawa's mind and with that he left the bar anger burning in his eyes.  
________________________________________  
"Have a safe trip home!" Onodera called out as An stepped into the taxi that was outside of his apartment. They had went shopping for about an hour and Onodera was now exhausted. He never did like shopping.

Going up to his apartment, Onodera unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing the door and dropping his bag to the ground. He flipped on the lights and suddenly found himself face to face with Yokozawa.

"Hello," Yokozawa said flatly from his position, leaning against the doorway that lead into the rest of the apartment.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Onodera said his voice beginning to shake. This wasn't right! What was he doing here? In his apartment? Suddenly fear struck Onodera right between the eyes and he began to sweat, his breathing increasing.

"I was getting a drink when I saw you sucking face with that girl!" Yokozawa said, his voice monotone as he spoke. 

"What?" Onodera asked, his voice breaking. Suddenly Yokozawa began to advance on him. Shit! This wasn't good!

Onodera quickly began to make his way back for the door. How the hell did he get inside the apartment? Before the man could do anything he felt a pair of strong hands around his throat.

Crap!

They then began to squeeze and Onodera couldn't breathe.

"Slut."

What was that? Onodera wasn't sure he was hearing things right. Maybe it was caused by his lack of oxygen. The man wasn't sure.

"Slut," Yokozawa said again, this time a whisper directly into his ear. "You say you love Takano but then you go and cheat on him. Now that is what a lying whore does! And, since you don't seem to mind, I'll show you what a real whore does!"

By now Onodera was turning a violent shade of purple. A strange sucking noise also began to escape from Onodera's gaping mouth as he attempted to get air inside his lungs, but no dice. Suddenly the boy felt himself being flung to the floor only to hit a wooden table, sending it toppling over while Onodera fell to the side. He heard a large smack on the hard ground and suddenly everything turned into double. His vision was bad. The only good thing was that he could breathe again!

Air rushed back into Onodera's lungs as he tried to figure out what was going on around him. The air was quickly pushed out of him, though, as he found Yokozawa sitting on his stomach. His pants were halfway down his rear and he was fully exposed.

"Suck," Yokozawa muttered as he took his member, slapping it in Onodera's face.

"N-no!" Onodera croaked out weakly.

A growl escaped Yokozawa's lips and with a swift movement he took hold of Onodera's hair, pulling it as far back as he could. The younger male's mouth suddenly opened as his body shuddered in pain. With his now wide opening Yokozawa shoved himself inside of Onodera and violently began to move his way around.

The man being abused began to make a god awful noise as his mouth and throat were being torn apart. Again, he couldn't breathe so the purple shade was back.  
"Harder you whore!" Yokozawa demanded as Onodera's eyes began to roll towards the back of his head. "HARDER!" Yokozawa then yelled when nothing happened. With that he pushed further into Onodera. This swift movement was like a switch. Suddenly Onodera came to life and began to wriggle around underneath the larger male. His head began to bob and in some way or another he was able to pull away his mouth from Yokozawa only to turn to his left and empty his stomach out on his shoulder and the floor.

"Damn it." Yokozawa muttered as he stood up from Onodera.

What the hell was going on? The younger male's mind couldn't wrap around what was happening around him. Why was Yokozawa so upset? He didn't know what the actual situation was. Onodera tried to speak but that didn't really work. Soon tears flooded into his eyes, spilling over his eyes. He was so confused.

Once again Onodera found his body being shifted as he felt large hands wrap around his torso, pulling him so that his stomach was facing the floor.

While his mind was still foggy he found that his pants were being pulled off of him. Onodera tried to move his arms, to push away his attacker but it didn't work. He couldn't control his body at all. "Nu," was the only thing he could mutter.

Now, the pain that Onodera had in his was suddenly increased by a hundred. He could feel something inside of him. It was in there quickly, only to be taken out, and then back in. It was Yokozawa, and he wasn’t very gentle as he pulled his fingers in and out of Onodera, his fingernails digging into the softness of the man, sending blood running down his legs.

"S-stop," Onodera suddenly muttered when Yokozawa hand entered in his fourth finger. Of course the man didn't respond, he just continued to do his thing. "P-P-Please!" Onodera muttered, his voice weak.

"No, you don't deserve it yet," Yokozawa finally said as he pulled all of his fingers out from their place, replacing it was a much larger item, himself.

A loud scream escaped Onodera's lips as his hips thrusted harder into the floor. His entire body screamed in pain and suddenly his mind shut down. It was too much. Onodera's eyes suddenly glazed over before closing and his body went limp. It was too much. He had passed out.

Yokozawa finished his work till he was satisfied.  
________________________________________  
It was about fifteen minutes after Yokozawa had finished. His eyes were heavy and sad as he looked down at the broken, half naked body that lay in front of him. How had it come to this? How had his anger take over so much? When he was mad…it was like he lost himself. And this? This was by far the worst thing he had ever done in his life. He would likely go to jail. And…what was he going to do with Onodera? He couldn't just leave him there! And he couldn't take him to a hospital without being questioned.

Shit.

Yokozawa sat there for a moment as he stared at the bloody mess before him.

Ah, but he had an idea.

Standing up he walked into Onodera's bedroom and took off his sheets before wrapping the man in them. He was much smaller than Yokozawa and easy to carry. Now with a passed out Onodera in his arms Yokozawa stepped out of the apartment, closing the door and shutting off all the lights. He was also sure that Takano would not be home for another hour or so. He was in a meeting.

Carrying the body to his car, Yokozawa started it and took off, driving deep into the city. It was a lengthy drive and suddenly Yokozawa found himself in a shady part of town. It was dark, dirty, and poorly dressed women littered the streets.

Finding on that he liked, Yokozawa pulled up and stopped the car. This took the woman by surprise as she looked at Yokozawa who was now out of his seat.

"Can I help you?" She asked, her tone deadly.

"You have a boss, right?" Yokozawa muttered, not even looking at the woman as he opened the backseat which held the still passed out man.

"Yeah. What of it?" She hissed, her voice like venom.

"Do something with this" Yokozawa said as he lifted up Onodera, almost tossing him at the woman.

"What?" She asked, her entire demeanor changing. She looked down at Onodera who was in a heap at her feet. "I-I can't do that!" She said as she looked up at Yokozawa who was now back inside his car, the windows rolled down.

"Sure you can," Yokozawa hissed before he put his foot on the gas, and took off into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

The monotonous beeping of Takano's alarm rang through his apartment as the man slowly stirred from his sleep. His head was foggy from his slumber and he looked around the dimly lit room in confusion. It took him a moment, but the black haired man finally realized his was in his own room.

He had had a rough night last night. For one, he had given Onodera a day off the previous day. He had told the younger man that the cycle was finished, and there wasn't much to do, but that wasn't entirely true. They still had one more day in the cycle. The most hectic day ever. And while they desperately needed Onodera, Takano felt the need to give him time off. He needed it. If he wasn't in the office he could steer clear of Yokozawa. Onodera was safe. That's all that mattered to Takano.

So yesterday was a completely and utter disaster without Onodera, but Takano could handle that. What really pissed him off, though, was when he went to go visit his neighbor after a meeting. The man knocked and knocked, and waited and waited, but no one answered. He ended up standing outside Onodera's room for a good hour, but no one answered. He pleaded, and even just sat there, talking. Just hoping that Onodera would hear him and open the door. He could just imagine how upset he was.

Finally Takano went to his own apartment. He poured himself a glass of wine, and ended up drinking the entire bottle. It was a hazy night, and finally in the early hours of the morning, Takano passed out.

Now that he was awake and all the man wanted to do was sleep. But he couldn't, he had to go to work. The thought of seeing Onodera there, though, seemed to make things a little better. After a hot shower, the man was ready.

Once at work, he waited and waited, but as more and more of his workers filed in, the man began to realize that Onodera was not coming in. Maybe he had heard him wrong. Maybe he thought he could take another day off. Biting his lip, Takano took his phone into another room and called the younger male.

There was no answer.

So the man could only sigh. Maybe he was getting too worked up. Onodera would show up, he always did.

The day went by and every ten minutes Takano would look up to see if Onodera had come into the office, but he hadn't. Takano would call Onodera, and every time he would get his voice mail.

Damn it!  
________________________________________  
At the end of the day, Takano was pissed! He wasn't sure if he was angry at Onodera for never coming in, or if he was mad at himself for trying too hard last night, or if he was angry at Yokozawa for scaring the younger male. Either way, it didn't matter. He was still upset.

Making his way over to the neighboring apartment, the dark haired man banged furiously on the door. "Onodera!" he called. "Onodera, I know you can hear me! Get your ass out here! I don't care if you're scared to talk to me, or see Yokozawa! You missed a day of work without letting us know. You have to face the consequences!” He waited for a reply, but there was no answer. Just the sound of the night air. "ONODERA!" he finally yelled, slamming his fist against the door once more.

At this point Takano was scared. What if the brunette had went into some sort of shock? What is he was lying on the floor all alone and scared? What if…Yokozawa had gotten to him? Panic began to course through the man and he finally decided to do something that he promised himself he wouldn't do.

He had always known where Onodera had left the spare key to his apartment. The man was always so careless, it was never hard to find. But he always knew. He just never wanted to let the man know that he knew, or use it. Not unless it was an emergency. And right now, Takano believed that it was.

Reaching up, Takano grabbed the spare key that was on the top ledge of the door and unlocked the apartment door. It was dark inside, and quiet.

"Ritsu?" He called, his heart beating in his chest as he looked around. Everything was normal. There was no signs of the struggle that had happened over twenty four hours ago. "Ritsu?" Takano called again as he made his way through the apartment.

Through his entire search of the place, there was only one thing out of place. Onodera's sheets were missing from his bed. His comforter, though, lay crumpled on the floor like it normally did. Perhaps he was washing them. Maybe he was out for a while.

The more Takano stood in the apartment, though, the guiltier he felt. Finally he decided to get out of the apartment, and just wait for Onodera's return. So the man locked up the apartment, put the key back, and waited.

Little did he know of the events that had occurred the previous day. Little did he know that after everything had happened, after Onodera had been dropped off, Yokozawa had returned. He had cleaned up the mess, and had covered up anything that would give him away. He would just allow everyone to think that Onodera had disappeared. No one could know the truth. Especially Takano. And little did Takano know, that Onodera was in a very dangerous situation, in desperate need of his help.


	6. Chapter 6

The smell of cigarettes and alcohol tickled Onodera's nose, slowly dragging him out from his groggy state. He felt sick, disoriented, sore, and confused. And the smoke filtering into his nose made him want to roll over and vomit. But where the hell was he? Onodera wasn't quite sure. He knew he wasn't at his home. No one smoked there, and he hadn't fallen asleep at work, so what was going on?

"Oh, you're awake," A low female voice suddenly muttered a few feet above him. Onodera's green eyes suddenly snapped fully open and he was left gawking at a brown haired woman, holding what looked like a shot glass full of…something.

The man sat up, rubbing his eyes for a moment, wincing when his hand touched the still back eyes. "Where…where am I? And who are you?" He asked, his mind still in a fog.

The woman simply raised an eyebrow, pressed her bright red lips together and chuckled before shaking her head. "You don't want to know kid," She said before taking the shot of alcohol. The only thing Onodera could do was look up at her in confusion. Again, the woman shook her head. "Do you remember anything before you woke up here?" She asked, a curious look on her face.

Onodera sat there, thinking. Of course it didn't take him long to remember, and as soon as he did, his face fell. The man seemed to collapse into himself as he took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. What had Yokozawa done to him? Why was he here? Where was he? What had he done to make the man so mad? Onodera was completely and utterly confused. No, he was terrified.

"Well, looks like you do," She said, reaching out her hand, and placing her slender fingers around Onodera's shoulder. "What happened?" She suddenly asked after a moment. Right away the brunette looked up at the woman, a few tears running down his cheeks. He didn't want to tell the woman, at all. Hell, he didn't even know her! So he simply shook his head. "That's fine," She said, patting his back gently before pulling away.

"Where am I?" Onodera asked again, this time through clenched teeth. Perhaps it was to keep him from crying even more. This time, when the man asked, the brown haired woman nodded, pressing her lips together before she spoke. "You're in the Taito district. San'ya, to be exact," She said, running a hand through Onodera's brown hair, her hand stopping as it got closed on Onodera's black eye. "You're at what I can only call a brothel." She said, watching as the man's green eyes grew wide.  
"Why? How did I get here?" He asked, his voice shaking as he sat up a little more, wincing as he did so.

"A man drove by me last night and dumped you off. He told me to take you to my boss," She said, her dark brown eyes looking over Onodera.

"And you did?" Onodera asked in a rage, looking up at the woman. As he did so, the woman seemed to look at Onodera in surprise, and then she looked…insulted.

"No," She said flatly. "I would never ask this to be someone's life. Especially if they didn't want it! I'm here by choice! You, are not. I would have rather taken you to a hospital. And actually, I wanted to, but my boss saw the man dump you off. She was rather pleased to have you." She explained, drumming her fingers against her knee. "I'll do my best to look out for you though," She then said, a small smile appearing on her lips. The entire time Onodera and seen her, he hadn't thought of her as very attractive, but as soon as the smile spread across her face, the man knew, she was beautiful! "What's your name?" She then asked once more.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," Was the only thing that Onodera could mutter back.

"Fair enough," the woman said with a small laugh. "My name is Ai," She chuckled, seeing Onodera's reaction.

"Ai? Really, that can't be your name," He said raising an eyebrow.

"You're right it's not. My real name is Manami. My boss thought I needed a different name though. So Ai It is. Now, tell me mystery man, who are you?" Now Onodera was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Onodera," he said, still looking at the woman. "My name is Onodera."

"Oh come on!" the woman suddenly laughed. "I told you my first name, now you tell me yours. Toss away the formality with me. You don't have it any more. I'm going to be looking out for you from now on. I would like to know your first name," She said, leaning forward slightly.

"Ritsu," The man grumbled. "There, are you happy?" He sighed.

"Yes, I am happy Onodera Ritsu," She said with a small chuckle. Just then the door opened and another woman walked in. She was older, much older. She had wrinkles on her face, showing her age. Normally Onodera enjoyed the company of other people, but this woman just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Ah you're awake," She said, placing her old hands on her hips. "I'm glad to see that," She said, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "We don't have very many male workers, but boy are they in demand! You can assume how thrilled I was when that man handed you over to Ai," She chuckled darkly, standing at the foot of the bed that Onodera was laying in. "My name is Mistress, and you will only call me that, understand."

"No I don't!" Onodera spat back, ready to fight. "Why am I here? You can't just hold me here I-" But the man never finished his sentence. In the middle of speaking the man was slapped over the face by the older woman who had quickly advanced.

"You shut your mouth boy!" She hissed. "I will not have my dogs talk to me in such tone of voice," She said, her words dripping with venom. "You speak only when spoken to do you understand." She asked.

Onodera only narrowed his eyes. "No I don't!" He said, this time getting slapped in the face with a riding crop that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Stop it!" She said "Fate brought you here, and now you must deal with it. That is all there is to it. From now on you listen to me. You work for me, and I own you. You might fight now. But soon…very soon, you'll be mine. I've handled puppies worse than you." She chuckled. "What's your name," She said flatly.

Onodera didn't want to say a word and was about to open his mouth to sass the woman again, but when he looked over at Ai, she shook her head, warning him.

"Onodera," He said, but Ai motioned for him to continue. "Ritsu."

"Well Ritsu, you can forget that name, because you have a new one.” She said, only to pause for a moment, as if to think. “Inu, that's your name. Got it? Good!" She said, as she walked to the other end of the room, digging into a cabinet and pulling out a syringe of something. "Now, I don't have time to train you. So we'll give you some juice and once everything is settled in, you can begin working for me," She chuckled. "I would say oh….an hour or so.” She said, looking over at Ai. "Hold him down," She commanded.

Ai was still for a moment but quietly did as she was told and held Onodera close to her, wrapping her arms around him so that he couldn't move. "Ai! Ai! What are you doing?" He asked, trying to squirm away, but the woman had an iron grasp. Just then the older woman leaned in, and stuck the needle into Onodera's arm. It didn't take long, but soon the man was beginning to slip. He felt strange, and he didn't like it. "Ai! H-Help me! Please," He pleaded, but the woman only gave him a sad look. "Ai! Please," He said once more, closing his eyes as he tried to focus. He didn't want this! None of it! He just wanted to be home, where he was safe…with Takano.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. So. I had spring break and then I was on choir tour so I was traveling or a little over a week. That being said I did not have access to my laptop or a strong signal for wifi…so that’s why this chapter is so late. (Even though it is already written) Bleh. I’m sorry.

How long had Onodera been lying on this dirty mattress? Minutes? Hours? Days? Or was it weeks? Either way, the man didn't know anymore. He was so disoriented and distraught that he couldn't tell at all. And the constant smell of cigarettes’ and mildew didn’t help him either. His body had been running on a mixture of Ecstasy and Heroin, along with some other choice drugs, so he couldn't make any clear judgments at the moment. In fact he was always disoriented and he hated it, but he was slowly beginning to crave the drugs. It helped ease the pain as his body was being abused. Ritsu was becoming addicted.

The man had been in this situation for a good two weeks now. Every hour or so a new man would come into a room, pull the drugged man's body into the position they desired, and have their way with him. After the man would leave there would be a twenty minute break period where someone would come in and clean up Onodera. They made sure his skin was in perfect condition, and all the bruises and scratches would be covered up with makeup before they would get the man set up for the next client.

Sometimes they liked it when Onodera was dressed up in a particular way. In others, the men were only looking for a good fuck. Either way, Onodera didn't care. He was in his own little world. The only time he would be dragged out of it was if someone touched him in the wrong spot and he would cry out in pain.  
The worst area was his throat. He had a terrible infection due to numerous customers sticking themselves inside of his mouth. It was no mystery as to where he had gotten the infection.

And while this was going on, Onodera wanted to fight back. But he couldn't. The drugs made sure of that. If it wasn't that, the man was paralyzed with pain and fear as more and more strangers took violated him. The only thing the man could do was lay there and take it. Only wishing he could go back to his old life. But as the days pressed on, he was starting to forget what the old life was. 

Why wasn't Takano there to save him? Why wasn't anyone there to save him? Did they even care? Would Takano even want Onodera in the state that he was in? He was a sickly color, as well as weight. Who would want someone like him? 

Hell, Onodera was even beginning to forget his own name. All of the customers and other workers called him Inu, the name he was given. In his constant disoriented state, that's what he believe to be his true name.

Of course, Ai wouldn't have none of that. Even time they would let Onodera rest, she would come in and look after him. She washed his body completely and would whisper to the man his real name. "You have to hang in there and be strong," She said one night, running her hands down Onodera's face gently, pushing his hair from his eyes. After that she left, leaving the man alone and naked in the small, damp room. This was all that Onodera Ritus knew. Even since he had first been given the drugs and was tossed into this room, he was doomed.  
________________________________________

At first Takano thought that Onodera was simply trying to avoid him, but as the next day rolled around, and the man didn't show up for work, well, Takano got worried.

It was halfway into the day when Takano finally convinced himself to call someone in Onodera's family. Perhaps they knew where he was. So the man looked up the number for the publishing company that Onodera's father owned, and called him. When the man finally answered, Takano sucked in a deep breath, and spoke. "Hello Mr. Onodera," he stated. "My name is Takano, I am your son's supervisor here at our publishing company."

"Oh yes!" the man said in reply. "I've heard about you," he hummed. "So, why is it that you called, hm? I hope my son isn't slacking off. He's a very hard worker…most of the time," The man laughed.

"Actually," Takano muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I was calling to see if you had seen or heard from him in the last two days. He hasn't shown up to work at all." It was silent on the phone for a brief moment, and then the man spoke again.

"It's not like Ritsu to miss work," the man said, as if he was thinking. “Perhaps he is sick. Have you tried calling him?" the man asked, to witch Takano laughed nervously.

"Actually, I live next door to him. I've tried there but he is not answering. And he is doing the same thing for his phone. I know this isn't like him," Takano muttered. "In all honesty, I feel like putting out a missing persons for him." He said weakly.

"Do it," The man snapped.

Takano seem stunned as both he and the elder man were silent for a few moments. He hadn’t been expecting that response. 

"You do it right now. You're correct. This is not something Ritsu would do. In fact, he came home a few days ago with a bruised eye. He said he fell, but I know a black eye from a punch when I see one. I just pray he didn't get into a bad situation." Onodera's father sighed. "File it, see if they can find anything. If nothing shows up by Friday, my wife and I will come down. Thank you for your call," And with that the man hung up, leaving Takano standing there with a blank expression on his face.

Onodera's father was right, he did have that black eye, and it was defiantly given to him by someone else. As of this moment, Takano wanted to barge up to Yokozawa's office and beat the shit out of him, but the dark hared man figured he should call the police.

That evening Onodera was officially called a missing person. Takano tried to watch as the police opened up the man's apartment and looked for clues, but he couldn't handle it. So he got in his car and drove off to another apartment.

He had some things to settle with Yokozawa.


	8. Chapter 8

The loud car engine cut off abruptly, leaving Takano to stare at the apartment building that Yokozawa lived in. How was he going to handle this? He felt the rage building up inside of him. He knew that if he didn't act soon, he would probably explode. For the most part, Takano didn't care what happened between the two of them now. Yokozawa had hurt Onodera, and there was no way they could salvage a relationship.

But still, the two had history. There was no way that Takano could deny it. A small part of him was sad, and worried. What if Yokozawa didn't hurt Onodera? What if this accusation was false and Takano was about to go ruin their friendship. Either way, he had already said some terrible things to him a few days ago. This couldn't possibly make it worse. Besides, Onodera's safety came first.

Stuffing his car keys into his pocket, Takano got out and locked the door before making his way up to Yokozawa's apartment. He stood there for a moment, possibly debating about turning around and walking away, but the thought of Onodera in trouble motivated the dark hared man to ring the doorbell.

It was quiet for a moment, and suddenly the sound of footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door. The door handle giggled for a moment and within seconds, Takano was face to face with a tired looking man.

"Takano?" Yokozawa asked, raising an eyebrow as he opened the door a little wider. "What's up?" He asked, leaning against the door frame as he brought a cup of coffee to his lips, taking a sip.

"You know exactly why I'm here," Takano growled as he took a step forward leaning into the door as he managed to push past the owner of the apartment, causing him to stumble backwards. Not only that, but he knocked the coffee out of the man's hand, causing the hot liquid to fall onto Yokozawa's white shirt and the glass cup to crash to the floor. The two stood there for a moment as Yokozawa just gawked at the man, shocked by the temperature of the liquid and the crash of the cup.  
"What?" He asked weakly, his brows pulling together.

"Quit playing these games," Takano muttered, his eyes deadly as he glared at Yokozawa who was now closing the front door, only to carefully step around the glass to get closer to Takano. "You hurt Onodera, and now he's gone," Takano growled, his hands balled in fists of rage. "And I wasn't lying when I told you that if you touched him again, I would kill you," The dark haired man threatened.

"Takano," Yokozawa said in shock, trying to calm him down. "I didn't do anything to him."

"Yes you did," Takano shot back. "You abused him before, and now he's missing. You are the only possible selection!"

"No! I didn't," Yokozawa said in desperation. I may have lost my temper. I may have struck Onodera a few days ago, but that was an accident. I would never go as far as to kidnap someone," Yokozawa said in reply, his voice deepening as he tried to assert his authority. "What kind of man do you think I am?" He questioned, his eyes narrowing.

"You're not a good one. That's for sure," Takano hissed, ready to hit the man as soon as he confessed to hitting Onodera."

"I know, I know. Like I said before, it was an accident. But have you thought that perhaps Onodera needs to get away from you and his family. You all seem to crowed around him all the time," the man muttered.

And for once in his life, Takano realized that Yokozawa might be right. What if Onodera was on a trip to see someone and didn't want anyone to know. What if he had forgotten about work?

Takano had two choices of things he could do. He could try pressing Yokozawa with more information, or just walk off with nothing more. He could always try again later.

"I meant what I said when I said I hated you," Takano muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. "Our friendship is over. Even if you didn't take him. You admitted to hurting him and that is something I cannot tolerate," Takano said as he took a few more steps closer. As he did he swiftly moved his hand, making contact with Yokozawa's jaw, and sending him flying backwards.

"You better pray we find him," Takano warned before stomping out of the apartment, slamming the door as he exited.

________________________________________

In the end, Onodera did not show up. It was four days when Friday rolled around. When Takano called Onodera's parents again, telling them nothing had come up, well, they were clear about coming down that day. They stayed at a fancy hotel as the investigation furthered.

Most of the time, Onodera's mother spent her time in the hotel room, crying over their lost son, while Takano and Onodera's father continued on with the search. Unfortunately, they were at a dead end. Almost a good week and a half had passed by. Everyone was desperate to see Onodera's face again. Especially Takano.   
He never realized how much he missed Onodera, especially now. But it wasn't only missing the man as it was being worried about him. He just prayed that Onodera was okay and not in some sort of trouble. On nights when he couldn't sleep, he would pull out their old school book, and look back to their younger days.  
Of course, he would study Onodera's boyish face, and smile. He just hoped he could see those big eyes and happy smile again.

________________________________________

Unfortunately Yokozawa was not doing too well in the days to follow after Takano's visit. He was guilty. He had been lying out of his ass the entire time his friend was there. Takano had turned him in for abuse, and Yokozawa was looked at as a suspect, but they had not arrested him, as there was no evidence.

But Yokozawa knew the truth. He knew what he did and he couldn't help but feel terrible about it. He had turned into a monster. And even though he didn't want Takano to be mad at him, the man knew he had to do something about this situation.

Even though there were dire consequences, Yokozawa had to tell someone. Maybe they could find the lost man. Maybe everything would be okay for him. So Yokozawa simply picked up his phone and dialed Takano’s number.

The phone rang and rang, but still no one answered. Yokozawa thought about just hanging up, but suddenly the man's deep voice sounded.

"What?" He hissed.

"I-I know what happened to Onodera," Yokozawa croaked out.


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't too terribly late when Takano knocked on the door. The man was making one of his frequent visits to the Onodera's hotel room. At first they were very grateful to the man and his desire to look for their son, but as the days passed by, Ritsu's mother began to get suspicious. Takano seemed too desperate to find the man.

Takano, of course, sensed this. He wanted to tell them the extent of their relationship, but he just couldn't find the right way to tell them. But today would be the day. He was already helping so much with the search. As soon as they found his lover, anyways, he was going to tell them.

So Takano knocked three times. Within a few minutes Ritsu's father was at the door with a small smile. "Takano!" he said opening the door further. "Come on in! We were just about to have some tea," he said, letting the dark haired man in before closing the door behind him. With that he led Takano into the living room section of their suite where they found Mrs. Onodera sitting on the sofa, pouring over some files that the police had given her. It was public news now that the son of the Onodera's was missing. So the misses spent her time by the phone, doing everything she could to find her son from where she was at. As the two entered the room, she looked up and smiled politely.

"Takano, it's nice to see you, again," the woman said quietly as she set her reading material down.

"Have you gotten any news?" The man asked as he sat down from across the couple.

"No," she explained, shaking her head. "We're just hitting dead ends. I just don't know what to do with myself," She cried out, shaking her head.

Takano was about to open his mouth, when suddenly he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, followed by a small beeping sound. The man smiled apologetically and pulled out the phone, only to scowl at what it said. What in God's name was Yokozawa doing by calling him? Takano didn't even want to answer, but it could very well be important.

"Excuses me for a moment, sorry," He said, standing up as he made his way into the bathroom, leaving the couple on the sofa. Locking the door, the man quickly answered. "What?" he hissed as his eyes narrowed. It was silent for a moment, and the Yokozawa spoke.

"I-I know what happened to Onodera," the man said, his voice cracking as he did so. There was a long pause between the two men, though Takano was just trying to wrap his mind around what Yokozawa had just said. Was this true? Did he really know? Or was Yokozawa just fucking with him?

"What? What happened?" Takano said after taking a deep breath, his voice hard and demanding as he spoke. He was not in a gaming mood.

"I'm sorry Takano," Yokozawa said, his voice shaking. "I didn't mean to. It wasn't supposed to get out of hand. I just lost my temper and…" The man trailed off, letting out a sob. Takano had never head Yokozawa cry before, and this clearly took him off guard. And while Takano wanted to be mad and yell at him, he knew he couldn't. This was his opportunity to get the information out of him. He had to be gentle.

"What happened Yokozawa?" Takano asked, his voice softer. "Please, tell me."

No response.

"Yokozawa?" Takano asked again to which he heard the sound of the man clearing his throat.

"I-I did hit him, I told you that," Yokozawa said, nodding on his end of the phone. "But then you came up and ended our friendship. I-I was so angry I went to his apartment and I-I," He stopped, letting out another sob.

"What did you do?" Takano asked, his voice a little more forceful.

"I beat him," Yokozawa stated, his voice a little stronger. "And then I raped him." Those words alone made Takano's heart stop. The color drained from his face and he felt like he couldn't breathe any longer.

"You what?" Takano asked, his voice now shaking.

"I beat him, and I raped him," Yokozawa croaked out. "I-I didn't know what to do when he passed out…so I loaded him in my car…and dropped him off with a prostitute," Yokozawa finished. "That's all I know. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I'm so sorry! I-I-"

"Shut up," Takano finally spoke up, tears now running down his face. "I don't want any of that bullshit!" He growled, his hands turning into fists of rage. "Remember what I said?" He then asked. "I'm going to kill you." And with that Takano hung up.

For a moment he just stood there in disbelief. Onodera was given to a prostitute? He had been raped? By Yokozawa? What else had happened to the younger male that Takano didn't know about? Just thinking about what Onodera had to go through made the man cry even more and he found himself sinking to the floor, burying his face into his arms as he hugged his knees. The man wasn't sure how much time had passed, but suddenly there was a knock and the door which ripped Takano from his thoughts.

"Is everything alright?" Onodera's father asked from the other side.

"Y-yeah, one sec," Takano said, standing back up as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He had to tell them. Opening the door, Takano came face to face with the man. They both exchanged glances as Takano passed, walking back into the living room.

"I-I have something to admit," Takano muttered under his breath as the couple sat on the sofa once more.

"What is it?" Onodera's mother asked, her voice suddenly worried.

"Your son, Ritsu, and I. Our relationship goes a little further than only an employee and supervisor. We've known each other for a while now. We…we even went to high school together. And we dated at one point," he said, his eyes flickering to the couple. "But…we…we were in a relationship. And I care about Ritsu very much. I…I love him," Takano admitted.

His chest was heavy and his eyes were wide as he searched the two people’s faces for any sort of anger, but there wasn't any. Suddenly Onodera's mother laughed softly, which only turned into a hysterical laugher.

"Th-that must be why Ritsu never wanted to find a wife," she said as her husband reached out, squeezing her hand to calm her down.

"We appreciate the information Takano. And we will respect our son's decision. Even if it is not what we had in mind for him. But, does this have anything to do with where Ritsu has gone?" he asked, his brown knitted together.

"It does," Takano said with a nod. "I love Ritsu, I do," Takano said, his voice becoming desperate. "And I would do everything in my power to keep him safe. I would never harm him. But," He sighed. "I just received a call. It was my supervisor. He told me he had hit Ritsu. I was angry with him and broke off our friendship. So he…he took it out on your son." There was a small gasp form Onodera's mother and Takano looked up at her with desperation.

"He…he beat him…and raped him. Only to dump him off with a prostitute on the streets," Takano explained. As soon as he said those words the color drained from both of the parents faces.

"He-he what?" The woman asked, her voice weak.

"I am so sorry. I never thought anything like this would happen," Takano said, tears now streaming down his face.

"Have you called the police about this?" Onodera's father then asked.

"No, I just found out on that call. I wanted to tell you before we told the authorities." Takano explained, wiping the tears from his eyes.

________________________________________

It was only thirty minutes before there was a loud knock on Yokozawa's door. He knew exactly who it was, and was ready to be taken away. He had made preparations, and said goodbye to everything in the house, even his cat. He had to pay for what he had done.

It was only thirty minutes after Yokozawa had called Takano that the police came to his apartment and took him downtown as a suspect to the disappearance of Onodera Ritsu, and Yokozawa was more than compliant.


	10. Chapter 10

The police had taken Yokozawa into custody a few hours ago. He seemed to be compliant as they cuffed him and took him down to the station where they began to interrogate him. In fact, he was willing to give any, and all, information that he had. As this was going on the police chief called the Onoderas down to the station.

Takano was still at the hotel room when they got the call.

"That was the police," Ritsu's father announced, hanging up the phone as he looked between his wife and his son's newly discovered lover. "They have the man you spoke of, and they want us to come down," He said, his words directed at Takano.

"Then I'll let you go. Let me know if you hear anything," the black haired man said as he stood, his knees popping from lack of movement. He really wanted to find out what the police had discovered as well, but he knew he had to give the husband and wife their space. He would find out on his own.

"Wait," Mrs. Onodera called out, her brow knitted together. "Please come with us. You stated your relationship with my son. It's clear that you care for him. You must be just as worried as we are. So come with us. You're family," She insisted.

"That's very nice of you Mrs. Onodera," Takano said clearly taken back by the woman's statement. "But I really shouldn't. I-"

"Stop that," The woman suddenly cut him off. "You're coming with us. I won't take no for an answer," She said before grabbing her coat, only to walk out of the room.

"For future reference," the owner of Onodera Publishing said with a sad smile. "Don't argue. She always gets her way. And if she doesn't, she'll go down with a fight," the man said before grabbing his own coat.

Takano had never really gotten to know Onodera's parents before this, but he could tell they were good people. He had made the right choice about choosing to be with Onodera, and he had a good family that he was being welcomed into. The only thing missing now was Onodera himself.  
________________________________________  
Eventually the Onodera's and Takano reached the station. They were greeted by the chief who led them into a small room with two sofas and a chair. After everyone was settled in, the chief cleared his throat.

"We have the ma, Yokozawa, in custody. We've questioned him and he is admitting to everything. With all the evidence he is giving us, there will be no issue in proving him guilty and putting him in jail. Probably for the rest of his life. If not the majority." This was supposed to be good news, but neither the parents, nor Takano seemed to be happy.

"What about finding my son?" Ritsu's mother asked, his voice shaking. The police chief sighed, nodding slightly as his head hung, his eyes locked onto his hands that were folded in his lap.

"Yokozawa only told us the area in which he dropped off your son. It's a very dangerous area with a high population in prostitutes and different sex and crime rings. To be honest, it's not even in our reach. It's another police forces district. We are in contact with them, though, and they are very happy to work with us. In fact the search will begin tomorrow." The Chief explained. He looked over the three people's faces, and each of them had the same look on their face, they were…confused, hurt, and scared. "You don't need to move to that district. We will still have this as the base for our investigation. They are just working with us now. We'll find your son," He said, standing from his position.

"Can we help look?" Takano suddenly asked, catching the chief off guard. He turned, raising an eyebrow.

"I would suggest that you do not. He is in a very dangerous part of town. I don't want to have to look for another person. Just leave it to us, we'll find him," he said, getting ready to leave another time.

"Can I-" Takano suddenly cut in again. "Can I talk with Yokozawa?" He then asked, already knowing the answer.

"We normally do not allow that," The chief said with a heavy sigh. "In fact I would advise against it," he said, moving towards the door.

"Please," A different voice interjected. "Please let him talk with Takano," Ritus's father asked, his eyes filled with desperation. The chief was now stuck between six pleading eyes, and he eventually cracked.

"Five minutes. I'll give you that much. I'll be back to get you in ten," he said, leaving the room.  
________________________________________

Those ten minutes eventually passed and soon an officer was back in the room, looking at Takano. "This way," he said, motioning for Takano to follow him. He did, and slowly the two walked down the hallway. From there they came to a plane black door. "One moment," The officer said, stopping Takano. "Please spread your arms out. I need to check you for any weapons," He said, holding out a wand that would scan him for any metal. Takano complied and after he passed the inspection the officer opened the door. "Five minutes," He said, allowing Takano inside.

What made Takano suddenly stop was the sight of Yokozawa, sitting in a metal chair on the opposite side of a table. His head hung low and his hair shadowed his face. Takano could clearly see that he was broken. So very quietly Takano took a seat opposite of Yokozawa and cleared his throat. Slowly Yokozawa turned his head upward, looking at Takano with bloodshot eyes.

"Takano," Yokozawa said, his voice cracking as he tried to speak. "Takano I am so sorry. I did-"

"Shut up," Takano snapped, his eyes hard. "Save it. I'm not here to listen to your pity party," Takano hissed, his words sharp. "Where did you take Onodera. Tell me." He insisted. "The police will not tell me," Takano said, his voice a little more desperate.

"I can't," Yokozawa suddenly said. "They told me you would ask that and told me not to say anything" Yokozawa explained. To which Takano raised an eyebrow. They knew that he would ask that question.

"You tell me right now. Do you understand! You know what the right thing to do is! If you want to redeem yourself, even just a little bit, this is it. It doesn't matter if the police get mad at you. You know you'll be doing the right thing," Takano said, his hands balled up in tight fists.

"Takano I can-"

"TELL ME!" Takano cried out suddenly, slamming his hands on the table. And in that moment it seemed like both Yokozawa and Takano jumped at the man's outburst.

It was quiet as Yokozawa shook his head, his eyes darting around the room. They sat there in silece for a moment but soon Takano began to see that Yokozawahe was playing with a pen that had been left on the table. Was he going to wright it down?

"Thank you," he said as Yokozawa jotted down the location before handing it over to Takano. After putting it in his pocket, the two sat there for a moment, just looking at each other. "Why?" Takano suddenly asked. "Why would you do something like this? Who would come to such a point that they would do this to someone?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"I don't know," Yokozawa said quietly. "I was just so angry and I-I-I didn't know what to do and he was just there and-"

"You need help Yokozawa," Takano said quietly, his eyes hard as he watched Yokozawa's pained expression. Just then the door opened and the officer motioned for Takano to leave. "You better hope to God we find him," Takano said quietly before standing up, leaving the broken man alone in the small room.

After their meeting at the police station, the Onodera's made their way back to the hotel room with Takano. They ate supper together and then Takano excused himself from the couple.

"I need to finish some work. Just because Onodera's missing, doesn't mean my job is," Takano sighed heavily as he stood up.

"Please come back tomorrow," Onodera's mother asked quietly. "It's nice, having you here," She then added on. Takano could only smile in response.  
"I'll be sure to do so," He said quietly, moving towards the door.

"Thank you," She said with a small nod, only to add a few more words. "Thank you, for loving my son," She said, her eyes locked on to Takano.

"Well," Takano said with a small chuckle. “That's not a hard thing to do," He said with a sad smile before leaving. The thing was, as soon as he left, Takano did not go home. The man simply pulled out the location Yokozawa had given him and drove to the area. Takano knew it was a large area to cover, but the man was going to do his best to try and find someone who could help. Perhaps he could find the prostitute that Onodera was given to.

So for the next four hours Takano drove up to every woman and man he saw on the side of the street, showing their bodies off. He called them over to the car and asked if they had seen Onodera after showing them a picture of him on his phone. So far no one had, and a lot of them were pretty upset when he refused their services. By the time it reached one in the morning, though, Takano figured it was time to call it quits for the night. He would try again tomorrow. So far no one had seem Onodera, and the man was giving up hope. But he couldn't. His lover was out there. So as Takano drove around on the streets, trying to find his way out of the area, he spotted a woman on the corner.

She had long brown hair and was wearing a skimpy tube like dress that showed off her large breasts and slender legs. She had on a small black jacket and was leaning against a building, taking a long drag off of her cigarette. As Takano pulled up beside her and rolled the window down, he had a thought that perhaps this was a bad decision. He had seen a lot of prostitutes that night, but this one took the cake for being the most intimidating.

"Excuse me," He called out motioning for her to come closer. The woman turned her head and a bright red smile appeared on her face as she took a few steps towards the car, her heels clicking against the sidewalk.

"How can I help you sir?" She asked, her eyes suddenly shining as if she knew some sort of secret. Okay, Takano was wrong. She was not only the most intimidating, but also the most charming.

"I'm looking for someone. They went missing around this area. Maybe you can help," He suggested as he held his phone out towards the woman, the image of Onodera flashing up on the screen. "His name is Onodera Ritsu and he-" Takano began but suddenly stopped when the woman's mouth fell open and she let out a gasp.

"Are you a cop?" She suddenly asked. She knew even if he was, though, he would never tell her.

"No," Takano replied. "I'm a friend of his. My name is Takano," he explained.

Suddenly taking a step forward, the woman practically pushed herself into the car through the window, her lips a few inches from Takano's ear.

"I know where your friend is," She whispered, feeling Takano jolt underneath her. "He talks about you all the time. I can tell you more, but we can't talk like this. My employers are watching. They will get suspicious if we stand here for too long," She explained, pulling back out of the car.

Takano just sat there, trying to grasp what this woman was saying. She knew. She knew who and where Onodera was, and she was willing to talk? Takano didn't even have time to think that perhaps this was a terrible idea. He just needed information. It had been almost three weeks since he had seen Onodera, and he needed answers.

"Fine then," He finally staggered out. "I'll buy you for the night."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the first chapter that I have now written while re-posting this fic. Everything else before this chapter had been pre-written three years ago. So I have to make everything from here on out. Updates might take a little longer. Sorry! 
> 
> Also, I want to apologize if there are some inconsistencies with the earlier chapters in comparison to this chapter. I’ve edited all the chapters before this, as well as re-read the manga as much as I could. But as you know, it’s been three years.

Once the woman had entered the car, she directed Takano to turn around the corner before stopping at a three story hotel a mile down the road. There they sat in silence before Takano let out a heavy sigh. 

“So, are we going to go in or not? I’m more than happy to just talk here,” Takano said, feeling a lot more comfortable in his own car with the strange woman. He didn’t know if his confidence could hold up once he was removed for familiar territory. 

“We need to go in. My employers can still see me,” She said as she opened the car door and got out. Takano didn’t move and the brown haired woman let out a sigh before leaning down to look at Takano through the window. “Come on four-eyes! I don’t have all day.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Takano quickly got out. He just wanted to get this over with. If he could just get some information out of this woman, then maybe he could find Ritsu. 

Right. This was all for Ritsu. 

“There we go!” She cooed as she made her way into the hotel.

The distinct smell of tobacco and alcohol lingered in the air as Takano followed after the woman. The building had to have been built in the sixties! It was old and falling apart! And the more Takano stood in the structure, the more he began to smell mildew. This place was disgusting! 

Takano chose to simply stand with his back against the wall as he watched the woman get a key from the person at the front desk. She smiled back at the man behind the counter and then turned to Takano. Motioning with her head towards the hallway, she then began to walk. Takano simply nodded and followed. At room 107 they stopped and stepped inside. It was dark, and still smelled, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the editor would have thought it to be. 

As soon as the door latched behind him, Takano flipped on the light and put himself between the prostitute and the door. 

“Okay. We’re alone now. Stark talking. How do you know Ritsu? Where is he? How is he? “Takano blurted out. His cool and calm demeanor was seeming to chip away with every second that passed by. 

“Whoa! Calm down Cowboy!” Ai said as she sat down on the bed, looking at Takano with her big brown eyes. “I know Ritsu because he dropped off right in front of me by a strange man,” She said hesitating at the younger man’s name. 

“Yokozwa!” Takano muttered under his breath as he stared back at Ai. 

“I didn’t catch a name. But he was a tall guy with a long face and black hair,” Ai said with a small hum. “He said he had something for me. He just opened up the back seat and there was just this kid. I tried to refuse him but they guy just dumped him on the street by my feet and took off!” She said with a small shrug. 

“So you just took him back to your boss?” Takano asked, his voice rising a little bit. 

“No,” Ai said quickly as her gaze turned deadly. “I know you don’t know me. But I’m not that kind of person. I-” she began, pausing briefly. “I wanted to call the police and get him some medical help. Hell, he wasn’t even conscious when he was dropped off. I actually thought he was dead at first,” Ai admitted. 

“So why didn’t you do that? Why didn’t you call the police?” 

“My employers saw what had happened and they were on us in seconds. I couldn’t do anything.” 

“You still could have called the police!” Takano interjected as he took a few steps closer to Ai, though the woman seemed unfazed. 

“Yeah. A prostitute is going to call the police on her place of work,” She said, rolling her eyes. 

“You could see he was clearly in trouble, right? How could you not help out someone who was clearly in need?” 

“Look. You’re not here to argue with me about the sex industry and how it works. You want your friend, right?” Ai said, trying to get Takano off track. He she didn’t want to talk about it. Perhaps it was because she felt guilty. Ai really wasn’t sure. 

“Right,” Takano said after taking a long pause. “Okay, so where is he?” 

“Miss Okajima’s. It’s pretty much a brothel,” Ai replied. “Its front is the Okajima Hotel, just two miles down the road. Kura Okajima is the owner of both. Though, she is called Mistress for non-traditional customers.” 

“A brothel?” Takano asked. He figured this might have been Ritsu’s fate, but he really didn’t want to believe it. “What does he do-“the man began but Ai cut him off. She knew exactly where he was going with the question.

“He is a worker. He pleases guests.” Ai said as she cast her gaze to the ground. She felt horrible for Ritsu, but there was nothing she could do. She felt so desensitized to the ways of her job. 

Silence hung in the air as Takano crumble in on himself. He collapsed to the ground, covering his face with his hands as he tried to process what this woman had said to him. It was one thing to think about it, and know that it might not be true. And it was another thing to have it confirmed. It just made everything else more…real. 

The only sound that could be heard at this point was the sound of Takano as he let out small gasps of air. 

“He’s not doing so good either,” Ai said, her eyes still casted down. Takano just peered at her from behind his hands with a quizzical look. This suddenly changed and his face darkened. Before he could say anything else, though, Ai continued speaking. “He’s pretty skinny now. It’s a mixture of malnutrition and the drugs. And he’s sick,” She said, he speech growing quieter as she spoke. 

“Sick? What do you mean?” Takano asked, trying to ignore the fact that Ai said Ritsu had been given drugs. 

“His throat is pretty infected. He’s been suffering from some pretty high fevers lately as well. I’m sure he has a few STDs. Okajima doesn’t screen the brothel customers like she does for her street business.” Ai said with a heavy sigh. 

Takano continued to stay silent after Ai had finished speaking. He was just trying to process everything without having a mental breakdown. He was going from one minute looking for Ritsu, to finding a woman who knew who he was, and then the next he finds out that his lover is being used as some sex object. It was a little hard to handle. 

“You know he talks about you though. He says your name quite a bit. Takano, right?” She said. Ai thought that’s what the man said his name was. “It’s mostly just him mumbling random words. But your name comes up.” She said, her eyes suddenly flickering up to Takano. “You’re his lover, aren’t you.” She then said, her words hanging in the air. 

“Yes,” Takano said weakly. 

“Do you want to see him?” She then asked, making Takano’s eyes grow wide. 

“What?” he asked, his mouth falling open. 

“Do you want to see him?” She then asked, leaning forward so that their faces were only about a foot apart. “You’ll have to pay for a visit, just like you have to pay for mine. But it won’t draw attention. You can see him. I’m sure he would like that.” She said with a smile. 

“Is-” Takano muttered, trying to form sentences. “How is he? Mentally. Do you think he can handle it?” The black haired man asked. He desperately wanted to see Ritsu, but if it would send him over the edge, he didn’t want to push him. 

“He’s really out of it. It’s the drugs doing really. But I don’t think it would hurt.” Ai said with a shrug. 

“You know, it doesn’t matter if I see him or not, though. I’m going to the police after this.” Takano said. Why was this woman telling him all this stuff when she knew what Takano was going to do. 

“I know,” She said, pressing her red lips together. “I just figured you might want to see him first. It may take a while to get the police organized,” She offered. “But you better act quickly. He’s either going to die or be sold off.”

“Sold off?” 

“Yeah. It happens quiet frequently with popular workers. Or if they get too sick, Mistress sells them to someone else so she doesn’t have to take care of a body.”

“This. This is disgusting!” Takano interjected as he stood up, rage in his eyes. “How can you stand idly by while this is going on? Don’t you feel guilty?” 

“Of course I do.” Ai replied. “But I’m a part of the system to. Just because I made a distinct choice about working in this business doesn’t mean that I have the freedom.” 

“Do you think it might have been a mistake to pick this as your profession?” Takano grumbled. 

“Every day,” Ai replied with a sad smile. Extending out her hand, she held it in front of Takano. “Come on now. Let’s go see your boy, huh?” She asked, the sad smile still on her face. 

“Right,” Takano said as he took her hand and stood up before pulling her up from the bed. 

“Oh. I’ll need some form of payment to pay for this room…and to give to my bosses when we get out. How does two fifty sound?”  
\----  
As Takano drove down the street to the brothel, Ai explained as much as she could to Takano about what they were about to do. The Mistress knew Ritsu’s identity, so anything about working with books would through up a red flag. If by any chance they met the Mistress, Takano was to say he was a man on business who had met up with Ai. While talking, Ai mentioned that they had a male worker, and Takano wanted to use his services. 

But the fact was, Takano wasn’t sure if he could do this. He was scared. Not because of the location he was in. But of the state Onodera might be in. He was a fighter, that was for sure. But from what Ai said, it sounded like he was pretty broken. Could Takano handle it? 

“Oh. I forgot to meantion,” Ai muttered as they walked into the hotel, bypassing this front desk and heading towards the back of the building. “He has a different name here. They call him Inu,” She muttered. 

Takano opened his mouth to ask her why the hell she didn’t say anything before, but suddenly an older woman’s voice spoke up, cutting him off. 

“Ai! How is my best employee doing today?” The woman asked with a smile as she gave the brown haired woman a hug. 

“I am fine. Thanks for asking,” Ai said as she gave Takano a wide-eyed look that the man really couldn’t decipher. 

“Good! Good!” The woman said as she turned to look at Takano. “And who is this handsome gentleman you have here?” She asked, her eyes scanning over Takano. 

Now that she was head on with the editor, he could see all of her features. She was old, that was for sure. She had wrinkles everywhere. Her eyes were small and close together and the only thing Takano could think was that she had a very small face in comparison to her head. 

“Oh, this is Mr. Kobayashi,” Ai said with a smile as she turned to look at Takano. “I met him down the street and I just happened to mention that we had a male worker and he was very interested. Is Inu free?” Ai asked as she wrapped her arms around Takano’s left arm.

“Oh excellent!” the Mistress said with a smile. “I’m so happy to do business with you Mr. Kobayashi! Inu just had another customer about ten minutes ago. I can sent Ai in there to get him ready for you and-”

“Oh, there really isn’t any need for that,” Takano said, cutting the older woman off as she spoke. “I like them dirty,” he said with a wink. 

“Oh, I see,” the older woman chuckled as she turned so her body was facing the east hallway. “Then it will be two hundred for fifteen minutes.” 

“I’ll need an hour,” Takano said, pulling out his wallet and fishing out a handful of bills. 

“Oh! Big spender I see!” She laughed, taking the money. “I’ll send Ai in with you anyway to make sure he’s not a complete mess. If you need anything, anything at all, just let us know.” She said with a smile before nodding to the both of them and walking away. 

They stood in the middle of the hallway for a moment before Ai took Takano’s hand and led him down the opposite hallway. “Here.” She said as she reached a door. “You ready?” She asked, looking to Takano before opening the door.


End file.
